LEARNING TO DEAL
TEDx REVIEW TEDx Ritenour Road is performed to a willing audience
WINTER SPORTS CAPSULES
An in-depth look at the role of trauma, violence, and poverty in the lives of students
OPINION Page 3
Basketball, wrestling and swimming head to the end of their seasons
SPORTS, Page 8
SPOTLIGHT Pages 4-5
THE PEPPER BOX RITENOUR HIGH SCHOOL
ISSUE 5, VOLUME 96
9100 ST. CHARLES ROCK ROAD, ST. LOUIS, MO 63114
FEBRUARY 2019
“Mr. Ritenour” announces retirement Activities Director Jerry Nolen announced his retirement at the January Staff Meeting
By: CAROLINE WONG Pepper Box Staff On January 8, 2019, Ritenour Activities Director Jerry Nolen officially announced his retirement, effective June 30, 2019. In the 151 years of existence of the Ritenour School District, Nolen has been either a student or staff members for a total of 43 years; 13 years as a student and 30 years as an employee. As a student, Nolen attended New Overland Elementary School (now the Overland Post Office), Marion Elementary, Hoech Junior High (now Hoech Middle School), and Ritenour High School. “I participated in marching band and regular band. I was a basketball manager and a student athletic trainer for the three years I attended Ritenour High School,” Nolen said. After graduating in June of 1972, Nolen attended the University of Missouri and double majored in German and Science Education. As Nolen taught German to elementary school students in the Columbia School District, he was put on academic probation and ran out of money as his mother passed away. These events prompted Nolen to move back to St. Louis and change his major to Elementary Education. He graduated from University of Missouri, St. Louis in May of 1977. “After three years of teaching, I was not sure if
[it] was for me,” Nolen said. “I quit teaching during the recession of 1980 thinking that everyone would want a former teacher as an employee.” Nolen worked part time in the warehouse for Schnucks Markets. During this time, he went back to school to receive a Masters of Secondary Education. “When my daughter was born in 1983 and began school, I felt the tug of wanting to be in a classroom. For a few years, I was a volunteer tutor at Wyland Elementary and then began to substitute teach again. That just made me want to be a teacher again even more” Nolen said. In 1992, Nolen was hired again to work as a seventh grade science teacher at Ritenour Middle School. By 2002, Nolen moved to the high school to work as a part-time science teacher and part-time activities director. Over the years, both staff and students have gained a great liking to Nolen. Athletics Director Drew Lohnes has worked with Nolen for almost 20 years. “He has such a positive influence on everyone,” Lohnes said. “He has been the face of this school for a very long time and has built relationships with thousands of former students.” With the kind nature Nolen holds and the relationships he has with students, he is seen at almost every athletic event, field trip, lock-in, dance, musical, and
Photo by: Ron Steinschriber Activities Director Jerry Nolen interacts with students at lunch on February 1. Nolen will be retiring after working in the district for 30 years. On the left are his high school graduation photo from 1972. The photo on the right is his first photo as an employee at the high school in 2002. Nolen came back to the school district in 1992 and worked at Ritenour Middle School for 10 years before coming back to the high school.
more. “I really enjoy the students and staff members. I spend more time with all of [them] than my immediate family,” Nolen said. As the years went by, Nolen has found it more and more difficult to work long hour days. “I am tired,” Nolen said. “I am 64 years old and I want to see the United States and spend time with my home family.” Retiring was not an easy
decision to make. When Nolen officially announced his retirement, Lohnes expressed his nervousness about the changes that will happen with Nolen’s position. “I knew it was coming,” Lohnes said. “It’s something that he has discussed for the past couple of years”. With the new time on his hands, Nolen is looking forward to traveling to see the many national parks and monuments, spending more time with his grandsons, and
becoming a better vegetable gardener. However, just because “Mr. Ritenour” will no longer be working at the school, he will always be remembered for his dedication, pride, and love for his school. “I have been the luckiest person in the world to have worked in the Ritenour School District with the thousands of students I have had and the hundreds of staff members with whom I have worked,” Nolen said.
Record-breaking amount of early decision students Seven seniors were accepted to high ranking colleges, many with scholarships By QUYNH TRINH Pepper Box Staff Ritenour’s graduating class of 2019 has set a record number with the amount of Early Decision students accepted to prestigious colleges and universities. Seniors Marco Urbina, Lena Thai, Hope Houston, Wei Tai, Martin TrujilloCarrazco, Clarissa GaonaRomero, and Tai Huynh have all been accepted into the colleges of their choice, months prior to regular admission time. Urbina and Thai were accepted into Marshall and Franklin College; Houston was accepted into the University of Chicago; Trujillo-Carrazco, GaonaRomero, and Huynh were
IN THIS ISSUE
accepted into Washington University; Tai was accepted into LeHigh University. The seven expressed positive feelings and relief toward their early decision status, and felt that all of their hard work had paid off. “When I got accepted, I felt like a load of pressure was taken off of me and I just felt like I accomplished my goal after 12 years of being in Ritenour,” Urbina said. Gaona recalled being emotional upon receiving her acceptance and shedding tears. “I was honestly in shock for a good couple of minutes before it actually sunk in, and then, of course, the tears came. It was a really incredible, rewarding feeling,” Gaona-Romero said.
Applying for Early Decision typically begins in November and results are unveiled mid-December. Early Decision is a binding contract. Students who are admitted are obligated to enroll into that institution and must withdraw any applications to other schools. Because they are only permitted to apply to one place, students are advised to apply to the university they consider their first choice. Early Decision admittance is different from Early Action, which is non-binding. Students who apply for Early Action receive a response, but are not expected to commit to that school. “Having to commit to one school is a pretty scary thought. However, I applied
SPIDERMAN REVIEW
WHITEWASHING HOLLYWOOD
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TRAUMA, POVERTY, AND VIOLENCE PAGES 4-5
to my dream school, so I know that the school that I committed to is the perfect one for me,” said Trujillo Carrazco. Students encountered a number of challenges during the application process. “I was really confused about my financial situation because of my non-affluent family members, so it took a long time for me to get a hold of the right paperwork and resources to help me,” Thai said. Huynh expanded on Thai’s answer and also chose finances as an obstacle. “The biggest challenges came during the financial aid forms and the moment before hitting the submit button. It was very difficult to read through the tax forms and
figure out exactly what the colleges want,” Huynh said. “For Wash U, they have extra forms to fill out on top of the FAFSA to apply for financial aid. Beyond that, the moment before I hit the submit button, I reviewed my application at least 15 times to make sure that everything was spelled right, grammatically correct, and aesthetically pleasing. The entire application is essentially a snapshot of my entire life so far, so it was very important to capture the best moments and be confident in the traits, activities, and memories I decided to talk about.” Huynh named college counselor Julie Kampschroeder as his biggest See EARLY DECISION on P. 7
RHS OSCAR PREDICTIONS
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
EFFECTS OF NEW GPA RULE
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